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"We were introduced to Tim Reiter through a local broker,
George X.
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We were advised that Tim had access to foreign funds for
property development and investment. Given our past experience with overseas
loan offers we were wary, but had more confidence this time as we were dealing
with an Australian company and all fee payments etc would go through that
entity, so we felt we had some recourse if things did not turn out as expected.
We had also dealt with Tim on another loan application several years ago, so we
knew he had been operating in the Australian property finance sector for quite
some time.
ˇ
We completed the application form and George submitted
them for us. We were advised our application was approved and we needed to fly
to Melbourne to meet Tim so that the loan could be advanced. We did so on
2nd December, 2013. The funds were to be provided by a collection of high net
worth people, and come via of Spain because there were less regulations on
international lending from there. Tim advised that’s several loan applications
were well advanced and would settle within the next two weeks.
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We were provided with a one page pre-contractual loan
approval form (attached) and advised that to advance the loan, a $50,000 fee was
required. We would then receive the full loan document, and then proceed to a
property valuation which we would need to fund.
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We signed the approval form and paid the $50,000 which was
invoiced by Mortgage Capital Partners Pty Ltd. We
were then advised us that the fund, Private International Finance,
was managed by Paul Robinson, an English lawyer. We couldn’t find either on the
internet.
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The loan documentation that arrived a week later was
insubstantial (copy attached) particularly considering the quantum of the loan,
there was a short time frame to accept it. The loan document didn’t even
identify the lender and there was nowhere for the lender to sign.
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The valuation fee was quoted at just under $80,000, well
above what we would expect to pay for a valuation . We asked to see the valuers
fee proposal but this was denied.
ˇ
We exchanged several emails in the week following (all
attached) seeking clarification and further information to fill in the gaps in
the loan document. They were answered either by Tim Reiter or the lender, Paul
Robinson. Their responses basically added up to “sign the loan offer and pay the
valuation fee or lose your $50,000”.
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We requested a refund on our fee from Mortgage Capital
Partners as they had invoiced us, but they had not carried through on their
promises.
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No refund has been forthcoming.
Kind regards .... (Name withheld)"
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Because this was our first project in Xxxxx and I found on the internet
Mortgage Capital Group, Melbourne, who specialised in large international
project finance, especially for higher risk projects/regions.
On email enquiry through their website I was phoned by a Richard White and asked
to a meeting one Saturday morning in their Melbourne office. The quiet of a
Saturday morning suited perfectly. The meeting went well, I was in their plush
offices in Melbourne CBD they felt legit and very capable. The meeting was with
MCG representatives Richard White and Charles Cameron.
I was advised that most of their project funding came from wealthy
individuals/funds in Spain and Dubai and that our project was their
core business. At a glance they would likely be able to help as we discussed
the application and due diligence processes required and the time frames.
Quickly I went away and compiled a formal bound project finance application
based on all the usual information I expected a financier to ask for. This was
emailed to Charles Cameron / Mortgage Capital Group. Several weeks passed and
nothing meaningful was heard from MCG despite my emailing several times and
phoning. At best all I received was a generic MCG email, and I dId not know who
sent it, “application received” or “being processed”.
After a couple more weeks with nothing I called back into the offices of
Mortgage Capital Group without appointment. First red flag was when I asked the
lady at the front desk to see the manager of Mortgage Capital Group and she
replied “who?”. I went back outside and phoned both Richard White and Charles
Cameron to no avail.
Soon after Charles Cameron phoned me back and agrees to meet me at the office,
so I turned up at the agreed time and was immediately greeted by Charles
Cameron standing in the lift foyer who immediately ushered me straight down to
a café across the road. I did not get anywhere near their office.
At the café I asked about our application to which Charles confirmed all was in
hand, progressing well and he confirmed “I see no reason for this not to
proceed” so again we then ran through the application process and MCG
application costs involved and how MCG earn their fees. Nothing was ever
mentioned about any upfront MCG application fee require to be paid.
Again I had ratified to me that our project funding was most likely to come
from either Spain or Dubai. He did confirm the only thing missing to support
our application was that I needed to forward copies of all our directors
passport IDs and proof of address which I did as part of ‘know your client
compliance’ which is quite normal.
Again several weeks passed and nothing was received
from MCG, being mindful our project had its own deadlines to meet and now
things were heading down to the wire. Again I phoned both Charles Cameron and
Richard White and left messages that things are getting down to the wire, so
MCG needed to either forward a finance term sheet offer or just tell us they cannot do the
deal and we will cancel our commitment to the project. They never returned the
calls and I never heard from either Charles or Richard again.
About a week later I received a call out of the blue from a Tim Reiter whom I
had never heard the name mentioned before, “hello, I am the owner of Mortgage
Capital Group, I have your finance term sheet offer, you had better come into
our office so we can discuss it”…….so I turn up the following day to the MCG
office. Same routine – I step out of the lift and I am immediately greeted by
Tim Reiter who ushers me straight back down to the same café across the road -
we never went into the office.
Very quickly Tim Reiter gets down to “before I give you your finance offer, I
require you to just settle the application fee” ……..I was provided just an
instruction, no invoice, to pay $69,000 to another finance company name that I
had never heard mentioned prior, not Mortgage Capital Group. I promptly asked
Tim why after all this time I was I never made aware of this requirement prior
and the argument quickly became heated. “I am a very reasonable and upfront
person”
I finally told Tim Reiter that I would agree to pay the application fee but I
at least needed to see the finance offer first in lieu of all the stuffing
around and vagueness that this MCG application has taken.
The next day the finance offer was sent to my email. The document was at best a
laughing stock.
1. The offer was not actually an offer that Tim Reiter assured me was ready.
Instead it was an agreement that if we paid the $69,000 our application would
be looked at – still with no assurance of approval.
2. It was from a Brisbane finance company whom had never been mentioned prior
and on checking their website appeared to specialise in consumer finance and
used cars. Certainly there was no mention of the wealthy Spanish or Dubai funds
mentioned prior. It was the farthest away from what I was expecting.
3. Most concerning was that clearly whoever drafted the term sheet had no
experience whatsoever in international project finance. Amateurish and
unsophisticated best described the offer. Even finance documentation for hire
purchasing a TV is more sophisticated, our requirement was for a USD$21M project
in Xxxxxx.
4. Time Reiter’s total focus quickly became the payment of the $69,000
application fee, unless this was paid no further questions would be answered as
I had wasted enough of MCG time already.
The total experience with Mortgage Capital Group and those involved became so
suspicious and sour on receiving the finance “offer” and the demand for the fee
payment that it prompted me to immediately go from the meeting to searching
online for their association with any scams, hence my story ended up here.
1. Mortgage Capital Group probably did not even occupy the office that
I
visited. The plush offices I originally visited happened on a Saturday
morning
– when noone else was there. I also recall those officeshad not a
single reference to MCG, not even a simple name in the foyer directory.
During weekdays I made it no further than the lift
lobby and the lady at the front desk tells me “who” when I arrive
unannounced
and I asked to see someone from MCG.
2. MCG only operated mobile phones and a generic email address and a vague MCG
website, there were no business cards, no ABN, no brochures, no staff, no front
desk reception, no formal communication, no formal finance application or due
diligence processes.
3. The finance offer was at best amateurish and
unsophisticated, would not even comply for a used car loan, let alone a USD$21
Million project in Xxxxx.
4. There was never any questions or due diligence
about the actual project itself, nobody at MCG was ever remotely concerned about:
(i) the project technical validation
(ii) how the money was going to repaid
(iii) the security
(iv) how sound our end customer was.
I don’t believe anything was actually done with our original finance application
supplied to MCG.
5. Tim Reiter and the other 2 men had very vague Linked-In profiles, in
conjunction with a vague website with no direct contact details. In
international project finance such comprehensive information is normal. These
guys were at best vague, at worst completely untraceable.
6. The registered office details within ASIC for Mortgage Capital Group pointed
to yet another address and director personnel I had never heard of, despite Tim
Reiter introducing himself to me as “the owner” of MCG. And the MCG Australian
website is registered to a USA office.
Specifically whilst I was not directly scammed out of any money by Tim Reiter
or Mortgage Capital Group, I have absolutely no doubt that on paying his
finance “application fee” my money and Tim Reiter would never be seen or heard
from again including Charles Cameron and Richard White. On reading the prior
story on Wikifrauds relating to Tim Reiter and MCG, instantly all my dots are
connected and I have absolutely no doubt that MCG is/was a sham and Tim
Reiter’s sole intent was to scam our business.
Either Tim Reiter’s business is either scamming “application fees” or identity
theft (through requesting passport ID’s and proof of address)……or both